KR19990087180A - Infinite retainers of guide device and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Infinite retainers of the guide apparatus according to the present invention are arranged at predetermined intervals, a plurality of rolling elements rolling in the endless track formed in the guide device, and the fitting portion and the respective fittings sandwiched between the rolling elements; It is made of a flexible resin connecting body for preserving and maintaining the plurality of rolling elements in an aligned state and capable of rolling movement with a connecting part for connecting a pregnant woman, wherein the rate of change in dimensions before and after the resin connecting body is absorbed or absorbed is molded shrinkage rate. It is molded by injection molding using a rolling element as a core using a larger resin, and also has a gap formed between the rolling element by oil absorption or absorption treatment, so that the rolling element is not dropped and its handling is easy. In addition, it is possible to automate the insertion of the guide device and to give the rolling element a very smooth rotation. .

Description

Infinite retainers of guide device and manufacturing method thereof

In various guide devices with bearings, the linear motion or rotation of these bearing races is achieved by the rolling movement of a rolling body consisting of a ball or roller sandwiched between a pair of bearing races. It allows the movement, but when the pair of bearing races are separated from each other, it prevents the rolling elements from falling off, reduces the frictional resistance by avoiding mutual contact of the rolling elements, and arranges the rolling elements in a predetermined position for smooth movement. For the purpose of obtaining, it is common to store and maintain a plurality of rolling elements in a retainer or cage made of metal sheet or synthetic resin and sandwich them between bearing races.

However, in the guide apparatus using the conventional retainer, the retainer was installed on one of the bearing races, the rolling element was inserted into the rolling path of the rolling element formed, and then the other bearing race was attached and assembled. When the guide device has a caterpillar of the rolling element, the assembly of the guide device using this retainer requires skill, and its automation is difficult.

In addition, a guide device using a conventional cage has a large number of pockets, so that each rolling element is rotatably stored and retained in these pockets, so that it is easy to insert a large number of rolling elements into the guide device. There is an advantage, however, there is a separate problem that it takes a lot of time to manufacture the cage itself because it is necessary to save and maintain it so as not to fall off by inserting a plurality of rolling elements in each pocket of the cage.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem, a chain-shaped ball retainer which is manufactured by injection molding of a resin in which a ball is disposed as a core on an almost flat surface in a mold and is bent or bent in use to form a predetermined shape. Or a ball cage (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 6-56181, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 5-52217, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 5-126149, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 5-196036, and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Publication No. Hei 5-196037).

However, in these chain-shaped ball retainers or ball cages, the rotational properties are imparted to the balls because they are imparted to the balls injected as a core in the resin by using the property of the resin to shrink after injection molding. It may take a very long time, or it may be difficult to impart smooth rotation, or depending on the type of resin, rotation may not be provided to the ball.

The present invention solves the problem that the retainer or cage of a conventional rolling element is difficult to handle and has poor workability, and at the same time solves the problem of the ball cage or ball retainer of the chain shape proposed above. It can be easily manufactured, there is no dropping of the rolling element, it is very easy to handle it, and it is not only has the advantage that it can be automated to be inserted into the guide device, but also infinitely able to reliably give the rolling element a very smooth rotation. It is to provide a retainer and a method of manufacturing the same.

The present invention is, for example, in a linear guide device for infinite sliding or a guide device such as a curved guide device, a swing bearing, etc., which is inserted into the endless raceway and is a relatively straight line between a pair of bearing races forming the endless raceway. An infinite retainer supporting a motion or a rotational motion and a method of manufacturing the same.

1 is a plan view showing an endless retainer of a chain shape related to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a front view of FIG. 1,

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

4 is a partially enlarged plan view illustrating an enlarged end of the endless retainer of FIG. 1;

5 is a graph showing changes over time in elongation at the time of oil absorption by A method;

6 is a graph showing changes over time in elongation at the time of oil absorption treatment by the B method;

7 is a graph showing changes over time in elongation at the time of oil absorption treatment by the C method;

8 is a graph showing the relationship between the elapsed time and the elongation rate after immersion in two types of endless retainers obtained in Example 2;

9 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing an endless sliding linear guide device equipped with an endless retainer manufactured by the method (method B) of the present invention;

10 is a partial cross-sectional front view of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a graph illustrating measurement of rolling resistance by a load cell measured with respect to the linear guide device of FIG. 9.

[Description of the code]

E _R : Infinite Retainer 1, 1a: Ball

2: Resin Connector 2a: Clamping Part

2b: connection part 3: chamfer guide

4: track rail (single bearing race) 4a: rolling surface

5: slide (the other bearing race) 5a: load ball rolling surface

5b: through hole 6: ball guide member

6a: No-load ball guide hole 6b: Load ball guide groove

6c: direction change guide 7: the lid

8: turn direction

That is, the present invention has a plurality of rolling elements which are arranged at predetermined intervals, and rolling elements in an endless track formed in the guide device, and a fitting portion fitted between the rolling elements and a connection portion connecting the respective fitting portions. An endless retainer of a guide device comprising a flexible resin connector for preserving and maintaining the plurality of rolling elements in an aligned state and capable of rolling motion, wherein the resin connector is absorbed or absorbed. It is an endless retainer of a guide apparatus, which is molded by injection molding using a rolling element as a core by using a resin having a greater or lesser dimension change rate than a molding shrinkage ratio, and has a gap formed between the rolling element by oil absorption or absorption treatment.

In addition, the present invention uses a resin in which the rate of change of dimensions before and after the oil absorption or absorption treatment is greater than the mold shrinkage rate when manufacturing the infinite retainer of such a guide device, and by injection molding using the plurality of rolling elements as a core, A method of manufacturing an endless retainer which forms a resin connector for preserving and retaining a rolling element and, after release, absorbs or absorbs it to form a gap for rotation of the rolling element between the resin connecting member and each rolling element. to be.

In the present invention, the resin used for molding the resin linkage should be a resin whose dimension change rate before and after the absorption or absorption treatment is greater than the mold shrinkage ratio, and the difference between the dimension change rate and the mold shrinkage ratio before and after the absorption or absorption treatment is 0.1 to 2.0. % Is preferable, and 0.5-1.5% is more preferable. If the difference between the dimension change rate and the mold shrinkage rate before and after the oil absorption or absorption treatment is 0.1 to 2.0%, a clearance between the resin connecting member and the rolling member is secured by the oil absorption or absorption treatment to ensure good rotationality of the rolling member. can do. In addition, if the dimension change rate before and after the oil absorption or absorption treatment is too large beyond the size of the molding shrinkage ratio, the rolling element may drop off from the resin connection after the absorption or absorption treatment. If the size is about 3%, then there is no fear that the rolling element will fall out of the resin connector.

Here, the dimension change rate before and after the absorption or absorption treatment is the length (treatment) of the resin connection (infinite retainer) after the absorption or absorption treatment with respect to the length (length before treatment) of the resin connector (infinite retainer) before the absorption or absorption treatment. After the length) is a percentage of the value (elongation rate) minus the length (length before treatment) of the resin connector (infinite retainer) before the oil absorption or absorption treatment, and the molding shrinkage ratio is a value obtained by the following formula according to JIS K 6911, 5.7. .

Mold Shrinkage = [(Mold Dimension-Mold Dimension) ÷ Mold Dimension] × 100

In addition, the resin used for molding the resin connecting body in the present invention, the molded resin connecting body needs to move smoothly with the rolling member in the caterpillar of the rolling element formed by the bearing race of the guide device. For this reason, the resin connection body needs to have flexibility of the resin, the Shore hardness is preferably 35 to 75, more preferably in the range of 40 to 60.

As a preferable resin which manufactures such a flexible resin connection body, polyamide-type elastomer or Hytrel, such as Pebox (Pebax; Toray Co., Ltd. brand name), is made, for example. Polyester elastomers such as DuPont Co., Ltd. product name), polyurethane elastomers, styrene elastomers, olefin elastomers and the like, soft vinyl chloride, and the like. Preferred are elastomers. Among the elastomers, polyamide- or polyester-based compounds are more preferable in consideration of the properties required for the resin linkage, in particular, flexibility or flexibility, change in dimensions during oil absorption or absorption, chemical resistance, and elongation. In consideration of the time until the elongation at the time of oil absorption or absorption treatment reaches a saturation state, in other words, the time until the dimension change is stabilized (dimension stabilization time), the polyester-based elastomer is preferred. Stormer.

In addition, the rolling element used in the guide device in the present invention may be a ball or a roller, the ball is suitable for the endless retainer used in the guide device that requires a smooth sliding property, and also to load a relatively heavy load Rollers are suitable for endless retainers for use in guiding devices.

In the case of producing the endless retainer of the present invention, a plurality of rolling elements are preserved by injection molding using a plurality of rolling elements as a core, using resin having a change rate of the dimension before and after the oil absorption or absorption treatment being greater than the molding shrinkage rate. The retained resin connecting body is molded, and after releasing, oil absorption or absorption treatment is performed to form a gap for rotating the rolling element between the resin connecting body and each rolling member.

Here, for injection molding using a plurality of rolling elements as cores, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H6-56181, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H5-52217, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H5-126149, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open So-called insert molding, such as the method of Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 5-196036 and Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 5-196037, can be applied.

In addition, in the oil absorption or absorption treatment for imparting rotational force to each rolling element of the molded endless retainer, a method of dipping the endless endless retainer in oil or water, or mist-shaped oil or water in the endless endless retainer A method of spraying oil, a method of absorbing oil or water into a moldless infinite retainer under a predetermined heating pressure by using an autoclave, a method of leaving the moldless infinite retainer under high humidity, a predetermined mold retainer in the atmosphere Although arbitrary methods, such as the method of leaving for a time, can be adopted, a preferable method is to immerse a moldless endless retainer in oil or water, and more preferably, to immerse in oil.

In addition, the conditions for absorption or absorption treatment at this time may be appropriately selected and adopted depending on the treatment method or the type of resin to be used, for example, by dipping an endless retainer in oil or water. In the method, it is also different depending on the type of resin, but is usually immersed for several minutes to several hours at a temperature of room temperature to 50 ℃.

The oil absorption or absorption treatment is for imparting rotational force to the molded rolling element of the endless retainer. When the oil absorption treatment is to impart rotational force to the rolling element, the oil absorption or absorption treatment can be directly inserted into the guide device. In the case where the surface of the endless retainer after treatment, such as when soaked in water, is moistened, it is preferable to remove the moisture on the surface and insert it into the guide device.

The oil used in the oil absorption treatment may be a grease or petrolatum of a lubricating liquid lubricant or a semi-solid lubricant, but is preferably a lubricating liquid lubricant, for example, a lubricant of mineral oil or synthetic oil. Or lubricating oil of an emulsion type, a liquid metal type, and a water base type is mentioned.

In this oil absorption or absorption treatment, the amount of elongation of the infinite retainer after the treatment, that is, the amount of elongation of the resin linkage, reaches a saturation state at any given time, but the oil absorption or absorption treatment must be performed until the elongation amount reaches the saturation state. It does not need to be necessary, and it shows at least 0.1% or more, preferably 0.3% or more of elongation with respect to the length before the treatment, and the free rotationality of each rolling element may be given to the resin connecting body.

However, if the endless retainer obtained after finishing this oil absorption or absorption process before reaching the saturation state is inserted into the guide device, the resin connector of the endless retainer absorbs the lubricating oil used in this guide device and reaches its saturation state. Since it extends to the end, there is a possibility that it may interfere with the smooth sliding movement of this endless retainer in the guide device. Therefore, it is preferable to absorb oil until the amount of endless retainer reaches a saturation state before being inserted into the guide device. Alternatively, it is preferable to perform absorption treatment. Therefore, in view of productivity, the resin used as the resin linker uses a polyester-based elastomer having a relatively short time (dimension stabilization time) until the amount of elongation reaches saturation during oil absorption treatment. It is preferable.

In addition, the endless retainer of the present invention preferably forms chamfering guides at both ends of the resin connection body, whereby the tip portion of the endless retainer is in particular an endless track when moving in an endless track where a bearing race of the guiding device is formed. When entering or exiting the divert path, the tip can be guided and moved smoothly.

The chamfering guides formed at both ends of the resin connecting body are designed in consideration of the radius of curvature of the direction change path of the caterpillar formed by the bearing race of the guide device, and the size or shape of the radius of curvature thereof. . By forming the chamfering guides at both ends of the resin connecting body, it is possible to smoothly guide the infinite retainer in either direction of the forward and backward movement during the reciprocating motion of the guide apparatus.

In addition, the length of the endless retainer to be formed is determined in consideration of the length of the endless track of the guide device in which it is used, but when the guide device is enlarged and the length of the endless track is large, the length of the endless retainer is divided into two or three. It can also be molded, thereby reducing the size of the molding die. In this case, the chamfering guides may be formed at both ends of the resin connectors of the plurality of endless retainers, respectively.

According to the present invention, when a resin connecting body is formed by injection molding using a rolling element as a core, the resin connecting body which is released and preserves and maintains the rolling body shrinks according to the size of the molding shrinkage ratio. By absorbing or absorbing the resin, the resin connector expands according to the size change rate before and after the oil absorption or absorption treatment, and the portion surrounding the rolling element is larger than the shrinkage rate before and after the absorption or absorption treatment. By expanding more than the outer circumferential length of the rolling element, a gap is reliably formed between the rolling element and the resin connecting member, resulting in imparting good rotationality to the rolling element.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the infinite retainer of this invention and its manufacturing method are concretely demonstrated based on the Example and test example, and application example which are shown by an accompanying drawing.

(Example 1)

1 to 4 show an endless retainer E _R having a chain shape related to an embodiment of the present invention. This endless retainer E _R is composed of a plurality of balls 1 made of bearing steel SUJ 2 arranged at predetermined intervals, an interposed portion 2a and an interposed portion between the respective balls 1. It consists of the flexible resin connection body 2 which has the connection part 2b which connects (2a), and keeps and maintains the said many balls 1 in a linear state and can be rolled.

In this embodiment, at both ends of the resin connecting body 2, as shown in Fig. 4, at the end surrounding the ball 1a positioned at the end, the ball 1a and a cross section are almost at the end. The concentric chamfer guide part 3 is formed.

The endless retainer E _R is manufactured in the following order.

First, a 6,6 nylon-polyamide-based elastomer using a mold having a plurality of balls 1 as a core [trade name: manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc .: Pebax 5533 SA, shrinkage ratio (0.43% in flow direction and flow) 0.74% of the right angle direction, and Shore hardness 55] was produced by injection molding the resin connecting body 2 and releasing it in a mold together with a plurality of balls 1.

Next, the endless retainer E _R thus formed was absorbed or absorbed by the following method, and the length dimension before and after the measurement was measured to determine the change rate of the dimension before and after the absorption or absorption treatment.

In addition, when the dimension change rate before and after oil absorption or absorption treatment was calculated | required, five samples of the infinite retainer E _R were prepared, and the length dimension was measured and calculated for each sample.

(Method A)

The formed endless retainer (E _R ) is directly immersed in a mineral oil lubricant at room temperature, left in lubricating oil as it is, and after immersion starts, after 1 hour, after 6 hours, after 50 hours, after 80 hours After 124 hours, the length of the endless retainer (E _R ) was measured to determine the rate of change (extension).

At the start of immersion, the length of the infinite retainer E _R and the elongation at that time 1 hour after immersion and 6 hours after immersion are shown in Table 1, and the elongation at each measurement is shown in FIG. 5.

TABLE 1

Sample No. Length (mm, top) and elongation (%, bottom) Start of immersion 1 hour after immersion 6 hours after immersion No. One 115.988 (0.00) 116.144 (0.13) 116.552 (0.49) No. 2 115.973 (0.00) 116.207 (0.20) 116.656 (0.59) No. 3 116.058 (0.00) 116.155 (0.08) 116.548 (0.42) No. 4 116.017 (0.00) 116.220 (0.17) 116.636 (0.53) No. 5 115.883 (0.00) 116.292 (0.35) 116.655 (0.67)

The rotation of the ball was examined for this infinite retainer E _R as follows. In other words, an endless retainer E _R is sandwiched between two plates, one plate is fixed to move the other plate, and the endless retainer E _R is moved at this time, and smoothness of movement when the plate is moved. Was qualitatively investigated.

As a result, one hour after the start of immersion, no. The rotation of the ball was confirmed except for 3, and the rotation of the ball was relatively smooth after 6 hours of immersion. Also, the rotation of the ball was confirmed to be very good after 50 hours of immersion.

(Method B)

The formed endless retainer (E _R ) is directly immersed in mineral oil-based lubricant at room temperature for 5 minutes, then taken out of lubricant, left indoors and taken out of lubricant (after 0 hours), after 24 hours, after 45 hours, after 69 hours After every 118 hours and 190 hours, the length of this infinite retainer (E _R ) was measured and the rate of change (extension) was determined.

The results are shown in FIG. In addition, as a result of investigating the rotation of the ball in the same manner as in the above method A, the endless retainer E _R immediately after taking out from the lubricant was no. The rotation of the ball was recognized except for the thing of 2, and the relatively good rotation of the ball was recognized after 24 hours from the start of indoor standing.

(Method C)

The formed endless retainer (E _R ) is left as it is in the air (at a temperature of 23 ° C. and 50 to 60% of humidity), and after 24 hours, after 48 hours, and after 96 hours, the lengths of the endless retainers (E _R ) are measured. The change rate of the dimensions (elongation rate) was calculated. The results are shown in FIG.

In addition, as a result of investigating the rotation of the ball in the same manner as in the case of Method A, the endless retainer E _R after 24 hours of standing in the air was no. The rotation of the ball was recognized except for 1, and the rotation of the ball of all the infinite retainers E _R was recognized 48 hours after the start of standing.

(Example 2)

The same 6-6 nylon polyamide elastomer (Toray Co., Ltd. make, brand name: Pebox 5533 SA) and polyester-type elastomer (Toray Dupont make, brand name: Hite same as those used in Example 1 above) Reel (2) was molded in the same manner as in Example 1 by using Hyelrel 4767, molding shrinkage ratio 1.2 to 1.5%, and JIS K 7215 hardness 47]. The change rate (elongation rate) at this time was investigated over time, and the time (dimension stabilization time) until the change of dimension was stabilized in the range of 0.5 to 1.5% of this elongation rate at the time of this oil absorption treatment was performed. Investigate. The results are shown in FIG.

As can be seen from the results of Fig. 8, in the case of the 6 · 6 nylon / polyamide-based elastomer, the elongation rate exceeded about 0.8% at about 40 hours after the start of soaking of the oil absorption treatment, and then rapidly up to about 200 hours. The change of dimension appeared, and even after 460 hours, the change of dimension gradually occurred. In case of polyester-based elastomer, the elongation rate exceeded 0.5% in about 50 hours after the start of immersion treatment. It reached about 0.8% and then showed a gentle change of dimension up to about 200 hours, after which almost no change was observed even after exceeding 500 hours.

As a result, the time required to reach an appropriate elongation range of 0.5 to 1.5% by using the polyester-based elastomer is longer than that of the 6 · 6 nylon / polyamide-based elastomer, but when the dimensional change is stable. It can be seen that the dimension stabilization time up to is significantly shortened, which is advantageous in the manufacture of the endless retainer E _R.

(Application Example 1)

In Example 1, the linear guide apparatus for infinite sliding shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 was comprised using the infinite retainer E _R absorbed or absorbed by the method B. As shown in FIG.

The linear guide device for infinite sliding is basically a track rail (one bearing race; 4) made of a metal having rigidity, a slide rail (other bearing race; 5) made of a metal having rigidity; It consists of a ball guide member 6 made of synthetic resin provided by insert molding on the slide table 5 and a lid 7 made of synthetic resin provided on the slide table together with the ball guide member 6.

And the said rolling rail 4 is provided with the rolling surface 4a of the ball 1 in the both shoulder parts, The load of the ball 1 which loads a load to the said slide 5 is carried out. The through hole 5b through which the ball rolling surface 5a and the ball 1 in a no-load state pass is formed, and furthermore, the ball guide member 6 has a no-load for guiding the rolling motion of the ball 1 in a no-load state. Predetermined curvature between the ball guide hole 6a, the load ball guide groove 6b for guiding the rolling motion of the ball 1 in a loaded state, and between the unloaded ball hole 6a and the load ball guide groove 6b. It is connected to pass through the direction of the guide portion (6c) for guiding the change of direction of the ball (1) is formed, and the lid (7) and the turning guide portion (6c) of the ball guide member 6 and At the same time, the direction change guide groove 7a constituting the direction change path 8 of the ball 1 is formed.

In this embodiment, the load ball guide groove 6b of the load ball rolling surface 5a of the slide 5 and the ball guide member 6 facing it, and the no-load ball guide hole 6a of the ball guide member 6 are provided. ) And the direction change guide portion 6c of the ball guide member 6 and the direction change guide groove 7a of the lid 7 facing the same constitute the infinite track of the ball 1.

The linear guide device manufactured in this way fixes the track rail 4, pushes the slide bar 5 with the load cell, and the rolling of the slide bar 5 with respect to the track rail 4 at the sampling frequency of this load cell 500 Hz. The resistance was measured.

The results are shown in FIG. 11, wherein the dimensions of the rolling resistance in the moving region partitioned by solid lines in this figure were 1.389 Newtons (N) at the start, maximum rolling resistance 1.439 N, minimum rolling resistance 1.179 N and average rolling resistance. It turns out to be very smooth as 1.302 N.

The endless retainer of the present invention not only has a very easy manufacture, but also has the advantage that there is no dropping of the rolling element, and therefore its handling is very easy, and automation of insertion into the guide device is possible. It is possible to reliably give very smooth rotation to the.

Therefore, the endless retainer of the present invention is very useful for the use of a guide device such as a straight guide device or a curved guide device for swinging infinitely, or a swing bearing, for example.

Claims (12)

The plurality of rolling elements are arranged at predetermined intervals and have a plurality of rolling elements rolling in an endless track formed in the guide device, and a fitting portion fitted between the rolling elements and a connection portion connecting the respective fitting portions. In an endless retainer of a guide device made of a flexible resin connector for preserving and maintaining the fuselage in an aligned state and capable of rolling motion, the resin connector uses a resin whose dimension change rate before and after the oil absorption or absorption treatment is larger than the shrinkage rate of molding. And an injection molding using the rolling element as a core, and a gap formed between the rolling element and the rolling element by oil absorption or absorption treatment. An endless retainer of a guide apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a difference between a dimension change rate and a molding shrinkage rate before and after the oil absorption or absorption treatment of the resin forming the resin connector is 0.1 to 2.0%. 3. The endless retainer of a guide device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the oil used for the absorption treatment is a lubricant of mineral oil or synthetic oil. The endless retainer of the guide apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the resin connecting member has chamfered guides for guiding the leading end of the resin connecting member at both ends thereof. The endless retainer of the guide apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the Shore hardness of the resin forming the resin connector is in the range of 35 to 75. The resin forming the resin linkage according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the resin forming the resin linkage is a polyamide-based elastomer, a polyester-based elastomer, a polyurethane-based elastomer, a styrene-based elastomer or an olefin-based system. Infinite retainers of guides that are elastomers. The endless retainer of the guide apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the rolling element is a ball. The plurality of rolling elements which are arranged at predetermined intervals, and roll rolling motion in the infinite track formed in the guide device, and the clamping portion sandwiched between the rolling elements and the connecting portion connecting the respective clamping portions, In the manufacture of endless retainers of guide devices consisting of flexible resin connectors that keep the rolling elements in alignment and capable of rolling movement, resins with a change in dimension before and after the absorption or absorption treatment are used. By molding the plurality of rolling elements as a core, molding the resin connecting bodies which preserved and retained the plurality of rolling elements, and absorbing or absorbing them after release, transfers the resin connecting bodies and each rolling element. Method for producing an infinite retainer, characterized in that for forming a gap for rotating the fuselage. The method for producing an endless retainer according to claim 8, wherein the oil absorption or absorption treatment is performed by immersing the resin connector in which the rolling element is preserved and held in oil or water. The method for producing an endless retainer according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the oil of the oil absorption treatment is a lubricant of a mineral oil type or a synthetic oil type. The endless retainer according to claim 8, wherein the resin forming the resin linkage is a polyamide-based elastomer, a polyester-based elastomer, a polyurethane-based elastomer, a styrene-based elastomer or an olefin-based elastomer. Way. A guide device composed of a pair of bearing races and a plurality of rolling elements rolling in an infinite track formed between the pair of bearing races, wherein the plurality of rolling elements are sandwiched between the rolling elements and the respective fitting portions. A flexible resin connector having a connecting portion to be connected, which is formed and stored in a chain-like endless retainer in a state of alignment and also in a rolling motion, and the resin connector has a change in dimension before and after the oil absorption or absorption treatment. A guide device, which is molded by injection molding using a rolling element as a core using a large resin, and has a gap formed between the rolling element by oil absorption or absorption treatment.